This invention relates to an electrical discharge device in which a glow/corona discharge is produced in air at atmospheric pressure. Such a device is useful in decontaminating air by removing certain chemicals therefrom. The device of the present invention vention can be used in conjunction with other types of filters, for example a gas filter and/or a particulate filter to provide a versatile and effective hybrid filter unit capable of removing many contaminants and toxic materials from the atmosphere. Such filters are capable of providing from 100 to 600 cubic feet per minute of filtered and detoxified air, or any larger multiple thereof.
Glow/corona discharge devices have been used in the prior art for purging toxic chemicals and other substances from the air; however, these prior art devices have been designed for a specific set of operating conditions. For example, for a particular application the desired gas flowrate, input gas composition, pressure, the electrical field strength and electrode configuration are interrelated to arrive at a fixed glow discharge volume which determines the system design and capacity. Any large change in any of these design criteria , particularly a substantial change in flowrate, requires a new design.
Military glow/corona discharge devices used in the field for detoxification or emission control require versatile designs capable of a wide range of flowrates. Also, military equipment for field use must be easy to maintain and be highly reliable. These design criteria were followed in the making of the present invention.